Gary Grigsby's World at War

Share.

We go hands-on with this turn-based treasure.

By Steve Butts

Where, oh, where is a strategy enthusiast going to find a game nestled between the fundamental simplicity of the Axis and Allies boardgame and the brain-crushing avalanche of detail that makes up Hearts of Iron? Answer: Gary Grigsby's World at War. This turn-based strategy game lets players lead one of five major powers from the Spring of 1940 through to the Fall of 1946. The game puts you in charge of moving your military forces around the globe and making sure they're supplied in the field. In addition, you'll be researching new technologies and producing new weapons of war

Though the tutorials aren't in yet, the game has a pleasant approachability -- at least, by wargame standards. Until you're confronted with concepts like airlifting units, extended movement or "frozen" nations, you can probably just jump right in and start playing. Over the holiday weekend, we played through a fairly complete version of the game. Though the game only lasts, at most, 24 turns (each turn here representing a season), the size of the conflict and the range of decisions that need to be made, ensure that you'll be hard pressed to get through a full game in a day's time.

Though World at War lacks some of the depth and detail of Hearts of Iron 2, it also lacks many of that title's distractions and disruptions as well. Sure, World at War doesn't let you play as Finland and it doesn't give you the opportunity to fire your good-for-nothing Armaments Minister, but it does offer a much more comprehensible simulation of the War that, like Axis and Allies puts the focus squarely on pumping out weapons of war and maneuvering them against your opponent.

As I said, the game allows you to take charge of any one of five powers from the War. You can play as the Axis powers of Japan or Germany, with Germany taking charge of the Italian units, or try your hand at the Allied powers of Russia, China or the UK-US combination known in this game as the Western Allies. Though there are only five powers here, the game recognizes a few dozen addition nations. Some, like Canada, are firmly ensconced within one of the major power blocs. Others, like Finland, have a bit more independence.

The game's inclusion of China as one of the five playable powers seems a bit odd at first, but it soon starts to make sense. Though those of us who played a lot of Axis and Allies associate American forces with China, the Chinese had their own thing going in World War 2 and it makes sense to allow players to take charge of them separately. China's responsibilities aren't quite as broad as those of the four other powers, so it makes a nice place to start for new players. It also means that the Western Allies or Russian player can take charge of them as well without too much trouble.

I'd still like to see the US power separated from the UK and Free French forces though; having all three together still seems like a bit much. At least you can opt to use the same base icons for the units of all three powers. Trying to run a side that uses different graphic icons makes it tough to keep track, particularly in the North Atlantic or Southwest Pacific where those units tend to come into contact with each other.

There are fourteen different types of combat units in World at War. On the ground, you'll have access to infantry, armor and artillery as well as cheaply produced militia and anti-air weapons. Airborne infantry can be dropped into enemy-held territories via large strategic bombers.

The strategic bombers can be used directly in combat but are put to better use in attacking an enemy's infrastructure -- taking out rail lines or attacking factories for instance. For ground support, you'll want to use tactical bombers instead. Regular fighters provide general air coverage for the rest of your air forces. Carrier-borne aircraft like bombers and fighters are abstracted into a single type in World at War, so even though the little plane icon looks like a Dauntless, it represents Wildcats and Devastators as well.

Though you won't find unique units for each of the sides, you will find specific national graphics for the basic units. In other words, the German aircraft don't perform any differently than those of Japan but you will nevertheless see a difference. The German fighter, for instance, looks like a Bf109, while the Japanese fighter takes the form of the Zero.

The fighting ships in World at War come in four broad varieties. The carrier group acts as a mobile base for your airgroups. Heavy fleet units represent your massive battleships, while the light fleet units contain destroyers and cruisers. Finally, submarines make up the fourth group.